Stellan Skarsgard to Play Villain in Legendary's 'Dune'

Stellan Skarsgard has joined the growing cast of Dune, Legendary's adaptation of the Frank Herbert novel being directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Timothee Chalamet, Rebecca Ferguson and Dave Bautista are already on the call sheet for the big-budget feature that is headed toward a spring start and will shoot in Budapest and Jordan.

Dune, considered a sci-fi literary classic, tells the complex story of a fallen noble family's attempt to control a desert planet named Arrakis and its export, a rare spice drug, while being betrayed by a galactic emperor.

Chalamet is playing Paul Atreides, the son of the ruler of the family, who is forced to escape into the desert wastelands and partner with its nomadic tribes. Using enhanced mental abilities, he eventually rises to become their ruler, with the nomads believing he is their messiah, and leads an army to overthrow the empire.

Skarsgard will play one of the villains of the piece, Baron Harkonnen, whose family previously ruled Arrakis and has a long hatred of the Atreides family, plotting with the galactic emperor to destroy it. He is also the uncle to the brutish character to be played by Bautista.

The script was written by Villeneuve, Eric Roth and Jon Spaihts. Villeneuve is also producing, along with Mary Parent and Cale Boyter.

Skarsgard was most recently seen in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again and is known to audiences for his appearances in Marvel's Thor and Avengers as well as several Pirates of the Caribbean movies. He has several projects in the can, including the World War II drama The Painted Bird and the HBO miniseries Chernobyl.